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In case you're wondering why it's called Wildwood....it's simply because it's going to have wooden coach work...in other words - a Woody.

We are going to build a woody that is as politically correct and acceptable at the country club as it is with a long board on the roof at the beach.

I'm not going to just slap some veneer & balsa together and call it a day...it will be properly framed out and I'll use some rather exotic woods for the skin. Luxury interior.....with all the bells and whistles.

A little bit hot rod, custom, show car, luxury beach cruiser...........what more could you want in a daily driver? Shoot, I think even the Donald would approve......hee, hee.

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Thanks guys, Rick hasn't seen this sketch yet so it may change but here's my first draft......I wanted to retain the overall visual recognition as a Willys but being it's going to have a Ferrari engine I borrowed a few styling bits from the Enzo. I also want it to be a bit more contemporary than simply a retro rod Woody.

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Talked to Rick, he's good with the sketch and sent me a Pocher F-40 engine kit so it's heater time.......not too shabby with the twin turbos and all but we're going outside the box for this cruiser........I hope some of you Ferrari guys will keep me on track with the wiring etc. Haven't decided yet whether to put a distributor on the thing...or use coil pacs and 'puter.

Here's a pic of the Pocher kit I'll being using for those of you that are unfamiliar with it.......

Looks like a lot of pieces but there's parts for complete engine and another partial engine. Rick also included most of a trans kit (hardware).

Now we all know there's no substitute for cubic inches and I have a spare block etc.

I can leave this as an 8 cylinder or make a (fantasy) 10 cylinder, If I was going to do a 12 cylinder I'd have used a Testarossa engine.

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Cool idea, Being a trucker my mind calculated this and as usual was wrong, Wildwood+Florida=Big Rig Chrome Shop in Wildwood off I-75, has to be a big chromed out Chicken Truck. lol,

Boy does that ever jog the ol' gray matter....been there many times in another life. Fruit stand, tourist trinkets, cheesy motel & restaurant.........took some serious downshifting to get thru Ha, Ha " downtown without getting a green stamp.

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Here we go Bart....I'm hoping that this build will be informative and helpful to some and at least eye candy for others.

As it progresses I'm sure there will be screw ups and gremlins that have to be dealt with but if nothing else it may keep some of you from repeating our boo boos in your own builds....in other words Rick & I will use our coin and time to (with any kind of luck) save you some $, time and frustration.

Rick & I after some head scratching' and our usual bantering back & forth collectively decided to keep the F40 a V-8.

Had to chuckle a bit when Rick said " Stay with the V8. It's a hot rod, not a Beverly Hills grocery getter".

Anyway on to the pictures......

Here's some out of the box Pocher kit pieces for the front covers and alternator....in my mind, no better or worse than any other kit. A bit lacking in detail perhaps considering the cost of Pocher stuff, but that's for you guys to decide.

Edited 30 May 2012 by GrandpaMcGurk

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I'll be using a number of bits from various vendors including TDR and the Madd Fabricator.......right up front let me say I am involved with TDR & MF, but whatever I use I'll be calling like I see 'em. Fair 'nuff?

These next few photo's are of the kit pieces assembled, painted, and some trans kit hardware pieces added.

The only reason I'm posting them is for comparsion between the O.O.B. parts and assembled with the trans kit stuff so that you can decide for yourselves if trans kits are worth the coin.

These are spares and I did not assemble them!

I'll be breaking them down to salvage the trans kit hardware parts only.

I don't know who assembled them and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but if you look closely some of the plastic bosses are broken out and drilled off center. That may be okay for some but I want want this build to be super detailed and the best my particular skill level with allow.

The trans kit bits I'm using are a Scale Details item for this engine.....I've been asked if it's worth the cost?

Let me just say the the quality is right on the money, if I had to to round up the hundreds of bolts, etc. that come in the kit not to mention the P.E., brass tubing and supplied info...it would cost me way more than the price of their kit and the reseach time would be out of sight.

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Nathan, the expense is really like asking how high is up........the most expensive parts and so on will still look like dog doo if poorly assembled and painted.

It gets back to that same old bugaboo about how much time and effort are you willing to put into a project.

I'm sure you have seen box stock models painted with rattle cans that are drop dead gorgeous.

It really doesn't matter how much money you throw at something....it's all about you, if you have a "well that's close enough" attitude.... your end result will reflect that.

However if you take the time to develop some sound basic skills and patience even a "snap kit" can stand head and shoulders above the slam, bam call it a day builders.

I'm mot saying there's anything wrong with that, some guys just enjoy building and assembling and if that's what works for them, more power to 'em.

This build won't be inexpensive in either time or money...mostly time.....but hey, it works for me. I'm going to push myself as far as I can and who knows....I might even learn a thing or two to add to my bag of tricks.

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Some concern has come up about the first drawing I did losing the appearance of a Willys, the grill rework seems to sit fine with everyone but the hood and air intake causes it to lose it's identity...anyway someone suggested a scoop on each side of the hood, that's cool.

Here's a really rough thumbnail of something else that's rattling around in my head.....still retains the obviously Willys nose and looks aggressive as all get out.

The F40 is fairly low profile & even with a blower sitting on top, I'm trying to keep the whole deal under the hood line as much as possible........the last thing I want is a bug catcher or huge scoop sticking through it. Even though it's a woody the coach will be slick and flowing...not a boxy add on.

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We've messed around with this hood design long enough....it'll work itself out after it's determined how high the engine will sit.

On with the engine......as with most Pocher kits there will be some problems with parts fitting etc.

Don't get me wrong...even at today's inflated prices you still get a lot of bang for your buck...just keep in mind that if you expect to glue the parts together and paint them you'll wind up with with something like the next few pics depict....it's my spare parts engine previously built when I got it.

Pocher has been out of biz for quite some time, therefore it's not unusual to find that parts are missing, distorted or have become brittle over time. Sink marks etc. are common to most models and need to be dealt with also.

As you can see, not much prep work was done on this example, gaps, sink marks and ill fitting parts..oh my.

Sure, a lot of this stuff wouldn't be noticed once completely assembled but I think we can do a little better.

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Now for some color....NO WAY...did I want to open the hood of this Willys Woody to be hit in the face with those fire truck Ferrari red cam covers......looked through my Pantone color charts and came to the conclusion that I would have to mix something up that would at least to some degree reflect what the final color (hint) of the fenders and hood would be. These pics are really large and the covers are no where near as gritty as they appear, actually to the naked eye ball the have a very subtle texture.

Being I custom mixed the paint, I figured I'd get to name it...it'll be called "Wildwood Farms Burgundy Wine" Ha, Ha!

.

That's a Ferrari red cover in the background.

Edited 2 Jun 2012 by GrandpaMcGurk

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Added the cover bolts, valve cover to belt cover seals, spark plugs... even though they won't show under the boots, started detailing and did a quick eye ball mock-up......may not show up in the pics but the cam belt covers are a different shade of aluminum than the block...just for giggles.

Pocher for some reason didn't bother to put the bolts in either end of the cam covers so I added those as well.

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I started to make a V12 block with a 1/16 scale Testarossa flat 12 maybe you want to see what it can look like... I got a lot of work to do on the bloc itself but it gives a good idea of what it will look .